President Carlos Alvarado appointed the daughter of an ethical guarantor of his government as alternate ambassador to the United Nations (UN) agencies in Geneva, Switzerland; despite the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a large group of officials with the rank of ambassador.
The president appointed Shara Duncan, daughter of Quince Duncan. The civil servant hardly has the rank of adviser in the roster of the Foreign Service of the Chancellery. She currently serves as Minister Counselor at the Embassy of the United Nations in New York.
The appointment of the official comes at a time when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going through a crisis of credibility, following the illegal appointments endorsed by the president and former Chancellor Epsy Campbell, who resigned last week.
This decision also contradicts Alvarado’s speech about respect for the diplomatic career. Although this type of appointment is in the hands of the President and the Governing Council, within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there are dozens of idle ambassadors or people who have not been able to get their promotion.
According to the site of the United Nations, Shara Duncan is a lawyer by profession and a specialist in Human Rights. She joined the diplomatic career in March 2006.
She graduated from the University of Costa Rica and has a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Education for Peace from the National University. She also took other courses in this field at The Hague Academy of International Law and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and has also held other positions in the Foreign Ministry.